Category Archives: 16th Century Europe

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I was so happy with the Egyptian themed pyrography bling box and the amount of detail that went into it, that I decided to look at another design for something relatively complex as well (compared to some of my earlier projects). I decided that I wanted to make one for my German Renaissance costume as well, though at the moment I have NO jewellery to go with this (since the wide choker-necklace I want to make/buy I didn’t have time for when I created the original gown). Continue reading →

Although I love the garb for this costume, and am in the process of making more – I don’t have a lot of jewellery for this costume. Although I have a few accessories (hat, belt), they’re too bulky to all fit in the box.

Which… kind of makes the box less useful right now until I make more bling for this costume!

With that in mind, I figured I’d make a smaller box that can just hold the few pieces I do have – and it will fit inside the bigger one if I want. Continue reading →

My Ottoman ‘wardrobe’ is a great contender to look at expanding piece-by-piece because it has many layers which can be worn interchangeably. This should work very well for an Ottoman Empire capsule wardrobe.

I only have one full outfit right now, but could easily duplicate pieces to expand the wardrobe.
The current wardrobe includes:

White linen underdress

Orange/pink silk block-printed vest

Hot pink linen block-printed coat

Navy pants

Bright blue and teal silk hat

Jewellery

Colourway

The existing Ottoman wardrobe colourway

The only real colour story here is “bright”. I think that if I were to make new pieces in pink, blue, or orange, I’d be able to mingle in new pieces as long as the shades were not identical.

On the SCA Clothing & Culture Facebook page, one of the members identified that “the vast majority of clothes were solid coloured”, and that the most popular colours were red and blue. The poster also noted that there was a lot of green and yellow. Another note was that they preferred strong colours and lots of contrast. I won’t say that this is overwhelming evidence… but honestly since this is not my primary area of interest, I’m willing to run with that for the time being.

The colour palette was created from a site called ColorMunki. Of course, the colours aren’t 100%, because they were based on my memory and what I was seeing on my screen… and every screen is a bit different.

Potential new pieces

I feel like the fabric will really be what speaks to me in making new garments for this wardrobe. I feel like I will most likely focus on duplicating the coat and vest, rather than the (unseen generally) pants, or utilitarian underdress – though at some point the underdress will need replacing if for no other reason than fit and wear.

iPhone selfie in the completed outfit

I think I’ll keep an eye out for fabrics that speak to me for:

A bold/bright blue coat

A bold/bright blue/green vest

Possibly a green hat

A new white linen underdress

I’ll largely look for silks for the clothing and linen for the linings of the coat and vest. I’m also keen on more block-printing, but will likely go with higher-contrast colours than I’ve already used.

Going outside of this colourway, I would also consider a red coat block printed with yellow motifs… once the blue/green vest is already complete (because I don’t think it would work well with the orange one).

What’s next?

Completed Istanbul outfit

I’ll continue over the next few blog posts to look at other costume ‘wardrobes’. Stay tuned, or follow the “Capsule Costume Collection” tag to read more if you’re coming to my blog well after the original publication date.

You can also follow my page on Facebook, where I’ll share updates from this project, as well as interesting stories I find online around costuming, sewing, and crafting… along with lots of Viking Age stories too!

Selfie in my new red and gold Italian over dress (worn over mundane clothing).

For Caterina’s elevation nearly a year ago I wanted to make a Giornea– and overdress for the Italian Renaissance costume not unlike my previous Giornea. However, this time I wanted to try a different style, with an open front rather than open sides. I thought that this would be flattering, and would nicely show off the green silk under dress (Gamurra).

Laying out the pieces for the overdress

I drafted the pattern based off my new Gamurra draft for the bodice, and used simple trapezoids for the skirt. No drafting there…

I did a mock up in a gorgeous gold and red brocade home decorating fabric. I bought this at the Grandmother’s Fabric Sale a while ago, and adored it, but it was only about 2 meters… I didn’t think I’d be able to find anything to make out of it…. but this worked out reasonably well. I wish I had more fullness for the skirt – but I hoped it would still be a wearable mock-up / toile. (I usually like to do mock-ups out of fabric that would make a wearable garment if the mock-up works out…)

At Avacal’s September Crown, one of the classes I took was a beginner blackwork class with my Barony’s former Baroness (who also does super-beautiful embroidery!). I haven’t done blackwork before, partially because it looks so complicated, but also because I’ve always thought it was a bit later than any of my main costuming personas.